LOS ANGELES — Southern California has more to look forward to in 2012 than ending its two-year post-season ban. Next summer the Trojans will move into the $70 million, 110,000-square-foot John McKay Center.

It will replace the ancient Heritage Center which had only 70,000 square feet. The new facility will feature a 32,000-square-foot weight room, more than three times the size of the old one at 9,600-square-foot weight room. The training room will be 18,000 square feet. The current one? It’s 2,700.

“Right now if you look at USC, there are a lot of great things going on,” coach Lane Kiffin said. “Starting with the John McKay Center. It’s ahead of schedule and moving along. All of our student athletes will be housed there, and it’s going to be really special.

“If you look at USC over the years, the one thing we didn’t have is we were behind facility-wise. So this allows us to catch up with other people and hopefully move past the majority of them.”

LOS ANGELES — New Colorado coach Jon Embree re-emphasized what he said all spring. He wants to make the Buffaloes more physical.

“I want to improve the identity of our program,” Embree said at the Pac-12 Media Day Tuesday. “When people see us play, I want them to understand we’re a physical program, a physical team and able to run the football. We haven’t run the football like we should. When Colorado was successful in the past, we were a good running team. To be a good team and run the football you have to have a physical mindset.”

New CU coach Jon Embree is tasked with a accomplishing a rarity: winning on the road.

LOS ANGELES — As one of two new kids on the Pac-12 block, first-year Colorado coach Jon Embree addressed the program’s biggest problem with a touch of humor. At the Pac-12 Media Day, a journalist asked how he has to improve a team that hasn’t won in 18 road games.

LOS ANGELES — Washington State coach Paul Wulff is one of three Pac-12 coaches on the hot seat — along with Arizona State’s Dennis Erickson and UCLA’s Rick Neuheisel — and his survival depends on how his wretched defense improves and whether quarterback Jeff Tuel jumps from dependable to remarkable.

The Cougars finished 118th nationally in total defense (467.00 yards per game), 115th in rush defense (220.25 ypg), 110th in pass efficiency defense (152.43) and 110th in scoring defense (35.53 points per game). All were last in the Pac-10.

LOS ANGELES — Colorado announced prior to the Pac-12 media day activities Tuesday at Fox Studios that two February signees, offensive lineman Alex Kelly and running back Rashad Hall, will not be on the roster this fall.

Kelly fractured an ankle in June while playing football on a beach and will “grayshirt” — meaning he will delay enrolling at CU until January in order to preserve a year of eligibility.

Hall did not qualify academically and plans to enroll at a junior college. According to CU, Hall still has a goal of playing for the Buffs in the future.

LOS ANGELES — Oregon released a statement prior to Tuesday’s Pac-12 media day activities at Fox Studio announcing that it “continues to fully cooperate” with the NCAA’s ongoing review of an alleged improper relationship by coach Chip Kelly with a football recruiting service operated by Willie Lyles in Houston.

The university said it has retained outside counsel from the law firm of Bond Schoeneck & King which has experience in dealing with NCAA compliance matters.

LOS ANGELES — Like Oregon, California subscribes to Will Lyles’ Houston-based recruiting service. The difference is Oregon paid $25,000 to Lyles who has said publicly that he helped steer five-star tailback Lache Seastrunk to Oregon.

Cal paid Lyles $6,000. The NCAA is not investigating Cal and Lyles’ situation with Oregon has not changed Cal coach Jeff Tedford’s relationship with Lyles’ service.

LOS ANGELES — California beat Colorado into a humiliating pulp last year in Berkeley, a 52-7 beating in Week 2 that led Buffs coach Dan Hawkins out the door. The rematch is again in Week 2 on Sept. 10 in Boulder and the Golden Bears will be trotting out a new quarterback and a new tailback.

LOS ANGELES — During his opening remarks Tuesday at the Pac-12 football media day activities at Fox Studios, league commissioner Larry Scott called the additions of Colorado and Utah the “dawn of a new era” for the the conference.

“We welcome the additions of Colorado and Utah,” Scott said. “Their additions very much helped us secure a landmark media aggreement (with ESPN and Fox, estimated to be worth $3 billion over 12 years).

“Our future is as bright as it’s ever been.”

The media days began with a video presentation, with a significant segment related to Colorado and Utah, saying that “football is in their blood.”

LOS ANGELES — The NCAA has instituted three new rules, but one will surely get the most attention. I’ll list the ones in order of what should be the most controversial:

1. Excessive celebration rule. If you think this rule was controversial before, wait’ll you see the changes this year. Before when a player did anything deemed as “excessive celebration” or “taunting” on a touchdown play, the scoring team was assessed a 15-yard penalty on the ensuing kickoff.

This year, if the penalty occurs BEFORE they cross the goal line, the touchdown is taken away and a 15-yard penalty is assessed from the point of celebration. That could range from pointing to the opposing crowd, holding the ball toward an opponent or diving in the end zone when unnecessary.

LOS ANGELES — In a preseason media poll released Tuesday during the Pac-12 football media days at Fox Studios, new league member Colorado was picked to finish six among the six teams in the Pac-12’s South Division — by a relatively large margin.

Colorado received a total of 46 points from the 42 voters. Fifth-place UCLA received 89 points.

Southern Cal was picked to win the South Division, receiving 24 first-place votes. Arizona State received 13 first-place nods and placed second in the preseason poll.

The league’s other new member, Utah, received four first-place votes and was picked to finish third, ahead of Arizona, which received one first-place vote.

It remains to be seen whether Colorado quarterback commitment Shane Dillon being named to the prestigious national Eliite 11 QB list becomes a blessing or a curse.

Expectations are sure to rise. But it does indicate that the senior-to-be at El Cajon (Calif.) Christian has the physical gifts and mental sharpness to succeed at the next level.

Read the story here from Rivals.com’s Adam Munsterteiger, publisher of BuffStampede.com, who writes:

24 of the nation’s top quarterback prospects from the Class of 2012 competed for five days at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., this past week with the goal of being named an Elite 11 quarterback.

Colorado commitment Shane Dillon could not contain his emotions when he achieved that goal on Friday.

“Oh my gosh, [being named an Elite 11 quarterback] is a dream come true,” Dillon said in a text message to BuffStampede.com.

At El Cajon (Calif.) Christian high school, Dillon recorded 2,982 yards and completed 19 touchdowns during a junior year. He committed to CU and also got offers from Ohio State, Arizona, Cincinnati and Vanderbilt.

There’s bound to be some head-scratching — and perhaps some snickering — regarding the most recent commitment to the Colorado football program for 2012.

According to Internet recruiting sites, CU picked up an oral commitment from an offensive lineman from California whose only other major college offer to this point had been from Army.

Gerrad Kough is a 6-foot-5, 270-pound senior-to-be at Pomona (Calif.) High School. Although only CU and Army are said to have offered, Rivals.com reported that UCLA, Washington, Arizona State and others were evaluating him.

Kough committed without having visited Colorado. He said he was offered a scholarship by CU “a couple of weeks ago.” Buffs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy is responsible for the recruitment of Kough, according to Rivals.com.

I’m not one to criticize a recruit because there are plenty of examples where a so-called sleeper becomes one of the most productive members of a recruiting class.

If Bieniemy thinks the kid can play, at this point that’s good enough for me.